Ellifritz selected as Basque Festival Grand Marshall
Patty Ellifritz is a hardworking wife and mother to three grown children. She has a mind for numbers, as an accountant by trade and Treasurer of the Basque Club, and hands that can sew like no one’s business, as Owner and Operator of the Mad Hatter Quilt Shoppe. She is also the 2022 Grand Marshall for the 42nd annual Basque Festival which runs from Friday, June 10th, to Sunday, June 12th. Being chosen as the Grand Marshall means a great deal to the Basque Club.
“It is a big honor, and I am very grateful to have been chosen,” said Ellifritz.
Ellifritz was born and raised in Nevada, residing in Ely until 1977 when she moved to Winnemucca. She grew up living and breathing the Basque culture, dancing under Hazel Novich and participating in the Zazpiak Bat Basque Club in Ely for many years before relocating. According to Ellifritz, her grandfather moved directly to Nevada from France in the early 1900s, followed not long after by her grandmother. Her family and their passion for honoring the Basque traditions grew from there and continues to grow and pass on their heritage from generation to generation. Ellifritz has served as the Treasurer of the Basque Club for 12 years and stays involved in other organizations in the community, like the Northern Nevada Racing Association, the traveling bowling club, Spare Time Match Set, and teaches sewing to 4-H kids. The Mad Hatter, located on Bridge Street, supplies the Basque Club, Euskaldunak Danak Bat, with most of their screen printed, embroidered and sewn items.
She explained that after the postponement of the festival because of the pandemic for the past two years, this year’s festival is sure to be a hit.
According to Ellifritz, the 2018 Basque Festival had a record number of attendees and the Club is hoping to see similar numbers this year. The Get Your Freak on with a Picon 5k run/walk kicks off the weekend Friday night at the Municipal Golf Course, Saturday morning starts off with a parade at 11 a.m., then a picnic with delicious Basque food, live music, games, vendors, and a raffle at 1 p.m., Sunday concludes the weekend with mass with a special Basque priest at 9 a.m., as well as a traditional Basque breakfast at 9 a.m.. For more information about official times and locations contact Euskaldunak Danak Bat.
“People are craving these types of things,” said Ellifritz.
Ellifritz encourages the community to “embrace the traditions’’ at this year’s event. She explained that the Club keeps up to date with research to make sure that the food and events are authentic. The dishes that are served are traditional and are considered delicacies amongst Basque people. The dances and other events, like weightlifting and woodchopping, are done in a particular manner to keep them both entertaining and genuinely traditional. The days and evenings are packed with cultural enrichment and are a particularly special opportunity for the community to come together, celebrate the rich heritage of Winnemucca and many of its residents, and have a picon or two.
“It is non-stop mass pandemonium from Friday at 5 o’clock until Sunday at about 3 p.m.; 72 hours just packed full,” said Ellifritz.